BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.” is significant as it not only focuses on the achievement of women but also places much emphasis on their role during the pandemic.

“The theme celebrates the remarkable effort by women and girls globally in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” explained Celia Christopher, Director of the Department of Gender Affairs. “Meanwhile, the campaign theme #ChooseToChallenge speaks to a challenging world becoming a more alert world.”

Mrs. Christopher said that ‘Choose to Challenge’ indicates that women are responsible for their thoughts and actions daily.

“It focuses on individuals as we are all responsible for our own thoughts and actions. The theme is particularly important as it focuses on COVID-19 in a world that has been forced to face health, economic and social lock-down,” said Mrs. Christopher. “It is also timely as it impacts primarily on women’s lives. For example, women stand at the front line of the COVID-10 crisis as healthcare workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and leaders in combating the pandemic. Women’s lives have also been impacted significantly through the loss of livelihood from the tourism and service industry sectors both of which are predominantly females.”

She noted that is it important to recognize the economic, political and social achievements of women.

“The department believes that women must be recognized for their contributions, generosity and courage,” said Mrs. Christopher. “Whether it is through advocating for change through their impact and influences as role models in the community, caring for children or promoting the legal rights of women we can all make positive gain towards women equality through our collective actions.”

One of the activities planned by the Department of Gender Affairs in collaboration with the Business Professional Women includes the airing of a four-part docuseries on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s lives.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — As the vaccination of citizens and residents against the Novel Coronavirus continues across St. Kitts and Nevis, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said his Team Unity administration is now shifting its attention to returning the Federation to its strong pre-COVID-19 economic position.

Prior to the arrival of the first two cases of the virus into the Federation, St. Kitts and Nevis stood as an example of a well-managed small island state.

“The prolonged impact of the pandemic will continue throughout 2021, affecting countries at varying levels, but there is reason for optimism,” said Hon. Harris. “For St. Kitts and Nevis, despite the estimated deep contraction in economic activity in 2020, the economic outlook is forecast to be modest with an estimated growth of 5.5 percent in 2021 and 5.0 percent in 2022.”

Dr. Harris indicated that his administration has implemented a fiscal strategy for the medium term (2021 to 2023), where one of the objectives is to facilitate recovery and reignite the economy by adopting a pro-growth approach to the development and execution of the capital budget for 2021 and beyond.

“We expect that the key sectors that will drive our economic recovery will include construction, manufacturing, agriculture, ICT and services including tourism,” said Dr. Harris. “Notably, construction activity, which generally contributes about 16 percent to GDP, would be positively impacted by ongoing projects such as the resurfacing of the island main road and residential construction. The construction of other major projects including the solar farm, the new Basseterre High School and health centres around the island is also expected to contribute to the projected growth in 2021.”

According to Dr. Harris, his Team Unity Government is taking every necessary measure to help rebuild the economy by continuing to provide support to various sectors through the provision of tax incentives and other financial and policy-based support.

“Examples of these will include the First Time Homeowners initiative whereby duty-free concessions are provided on materials each year,” said Dr. Harris. “Up to February 2021, duty free was provided on residential building materials totalling $4.6 million. Tax exemptions on building materials and equipment were also provided for larger non-residential projects. We have the Government Employees Mortgage programme and the Citizens Mortgage Facility all being executed through the Development Bank.”

Dr. Harris urged citizens and residents to take the COVID-19 vaccine as “the vaccination programmes put us further along the path to recovery in St. Kitts and Nevis.”

Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Hilary Hazel, said she expects the world economy to have economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2021 as the world in the process of opening back up and returning to a state of pre-COVID normalcy.

“In the United States, it is expected that that region will grow 5.1 percent,” said Ms. Hazel. “This is essential for us here in the Caribbean.

“We expect Latin America and the Caribbean region to grow by 4.1 percent and for us here in the Federation,” said Ms. Hazel. “This is consistent with all the projections made by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union economies, which are expected to return positive growth in 2021.”

Ms. Hazel predicted that the tourism sector would continue to be slow with prospects for better performances in the 2022 and 2023 tourism season.

“There are still relatively high levels of uncertainty in relation to the prospects of recovery,” said Ms. Hazel. “The prospects are much more improved for 2021 as opposed to the experiences in 2020.

“We are expecting that the negative experiences that we have had, in terms of the construction sector which saw a -16.5 percent growth in 2020,” she said. “In 2021, we are expecting a rebound of this sector which will grow by 8.9 percent and thereby contribute in the vicinity of 14 percent to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“The Financial Intermediation Sector is expected to grow by 2.9 percent and contribute around 12 percent to GDP,” said Ms. Hazel. “Our real estate and business services sector is expected to grow by 2.8 percent and contribute around 10 percent to GDP.

“Public Administration in 2020 was the only sector to experience positive growth around 3.8 percent and in 2021 we expect this sector to grow by 4.3 percent again contributing around 10 percent to GDP.

“The education sector which also includes our offshore education facilities would be expected to grow by 5.1 percent and contribute around 8 percent to GDP,” concluded Ms. Hazel. “In terms of our economic recovery, the pathway rests heavily on our ability to have government, businesses and the general public, finding a way to coexist with COVID-19.”

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WASHINGTON – The Biden administration has declined to comment on whether Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be extended for Haitians.

“By law, TPS designations are made by the Department of Homeland Security after consultation with the appropriate agencies,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told VOA. “So, we wouldn’t want to comment on any sort of internal deliberations when it comes to TPS.”

TPS is a designation made by the secretary of homeland security to individuals from countries severely impacted by natural disasters or armed conflicts. It allows beneficiaries to live and work in the United States for a period of time.

The TPS status Haitians currently hold was enacted by the Obama administration on January 21, 2010, nine days after a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the island nation, killing at least 250,000 people and displacing 5 million others.

In October 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden made a campaign stop in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, where he courted the Haitian-American vote and promised to act on an immigration issue high on their list of priorities, the TPS program.

More than 55,000 Haitians are enrolled in the program, according to the National Immigration Forum.

The Trump administration had planned to end TPS in September 2021. But the Department of Homeland Security issued a Federal Register notice on December 9, 2020, announcing that TPS beneficiaries from Haiti would retain their status through October 4, 2021.

Biden’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who is Cuban-American, was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 2. He made history as the first Latino and first immigrant to hold that position.

Haiti’s position

Haiti’s ambassador to the U.S., Bocchit Edmond, has called on the Biden administration to work with Congress to find a solution.

“We do hope that the Biden administration, with the help of the U.S. Congress, will find a final resolution to this very sensitive issue impacting a number of Haitians. The human impact should be considered,” Edmond told VOA. “The Embassy of Haiti will continue to work with U.S. officials as we advocate for Haitians in the United States.”

Prominent Haitian immigration advocate reaction

Reacting to the State Department’s stance on TPS, the Miami-based Family Action Network Movement (FANM), a grassroots immigration advocacy group, called on the Biden administration to act quickly.

“This is something FANM has been advocating for, along with other immigrant rights organizations. The time to do this is now,” Marleine Bastien, executive director of FANM, told VOA.

What’s happening in Haiti?

Haiti has battled political turmoil and a spike in violent crime over the past year. President Jovenel Moise is at odds with members of the opposition about when his term expires. He plans to step down on February 7, 2022, when a newly elected president takes power. But the opposition cites an article in the Haitian constitution that states Moise’s term should have ended on February 7, 2021.

Moise was sworn in on February 7, 2017, for a five-year term after winning a 2016 presidential election. That vote was a re-do after the 2015 election results were annulled over fraud allegations.

The U.S. and much of the international community back Moise’s claim that his term will end next year.

However, both the Trump and Biden administrations have repeatedly criticized Moise for ruling by decree since January 2020, when two-thirds of the parliament’s terms expired. They have also called on him to organize elections as soon as possible.

The United Nations, the Organization of American States and the European Union have expressed the same concerns.

Moise defended his decision not to organize elections last year, citing the pandemic, a crippling economic crisis, a spike in violent crimes and “peyi lok,” a series of massive anti-government protests that halted operations of businesses, schools and transportation.

Moise announced in February that a constitutional referendum was planned for April and legislative and presidential elections would be held in September.

New wave of asylum seekers?

Asked by VOA if the current political instability in Haiti could cause more Haitians to seek asylum in the U.S., the State Department’s Price did not give a direct answer.

“What I would say is that it is the responsibility of Haiti’s government to organize elections in 2021 that are free, that are fair, that are credible,” Price told VOA. “We join the international community in calling Haitian stakeholders to come together to find a way forward. What we have said is that the Haitian people deserve the opportunity to elect their leaders and to restore Haiti’s democratic institutions.”

Nike Ching at the State Department and Elizabeth Lee in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Department of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Social Development is moving forward with the development of a St. Kitts and Nevis National Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan, according to Sharon Warner, Executive Officer in the Department of Gender Affairs.

She said the intended outcome for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-funded project is “the development of a well-informed, comprehensive National Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan as an institutional framework that will assist the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis in facilitating gender equality and empowerment.”

“This policy is in support of the Sustainable Development Goal #5 -Gender Equality,” said Ms. Warner. “This will include the establishment of public oversight bodies and ministerial corporation structures.

“The policy will include guidance towards the implementation of gender based and sensitive strategies both in the public and private sector in an effort to protect the human rights of citizens and residents, said Ms. Warner. “This would therefore serve to ensure that the rights and interests of men and women are at the core of the country’s development agenda, which is envisaged to contribute significantly to positive, life-changing, measurable outcomes in the lives of citizens.”

“The Department of Gender Affairs is committed to ensuring that both males and females are equal partners in shaping the economical, educational, political, cultural and spiritual development of the Federation,” she said. “The department remains steadfast in its commitment towards fostering an environment that enables women and men to enjoy their full rights as equal partners in contributing to the overall development of the Federation.

“The Gender Policy is a two-year project,” she said. “Phase one was successfully completed in December 2019. It is comprised of widespread consultations, public awareness and advocacy activities, which included the collection of qualitative stakeholder data through discussions, focus groups and round table meetings, which formed a significant component of the process.”

The Department has now entered the second and final phase of the project, which will run through December 2021.

“The St. Kitts and Nevis National Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan is intended to guide the transformation process towards gender equality and equity for all citizens and residents of the Federation,” said Ms. Warner.

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